Monthly Archives: May 2005

Well, not really, but that was certainly the theme of last night’s huge party. Last night we celebrated the near completion of photography on RENT with a huge party at the W Hotel in downtown San Francisco. It was a great party with free flowing beer, wine, champagne and cocktails, some excellent Hors d’oeuvres, and dancing for all. A true Hollywood party – held in San Francisco.
But official wrap is still a few weeks off. Tomorrow (Monday) is my last day working in the production office here in San Francisco. On Tuesday I will be driving down to Los Angeles to start prepping for the arrivial of the rest of the crew on Thursday. I am switching out of the production office onto set for the two weeks we are shooting in Los Angeles. Once we wrap LA, I will be heading back up to San Francisco where I will be working in post until the end of October/early November.

Well, folks…
It turns out that I have not been invited to the interview phase for the DGA program. When I left Assessment Center today, I really didn’t have good feelings about it at all. It isn’t necessarily that I felt I did not perform well; rather, I felt that the entire process of Assessment Center was terribly flawed, because the way it is administered, some of the most talented people could be eliminated very easily. It all comes down to the members of your group, and if, like me, you have a group member who refuses to work WITH the group, the entire group dynamic is shot. Unfortunately, what this also means is that ultimately, some of the less qualified candidates may very well be accepted into the program.
Anyhow, I’ve changed around my plans and will be flying back to San Francisco tomorrow (Sunday). What this means, of course, is that I will be staying on with RENT through post, which means I’ve got a job until November. That, at least, is good news.

Good morning, world. (Of course, I realize that just because it is morning where I am doesn’t mean it is morning all over the world… I don’t think like New Yorkers do.)
As I type this I am sitting in sunny southern California where I am spending the weekend in order to participate in one of the final stages of the application process to the DGA Training Program. For those of you not familiar with this program, it is one of the film industry’s most prestigious placement programs administered by the Directors Guild of America. Participants in the program are placed in production jobs for 2-3 years until they have accumulated enough work days to be admitted into the DGA, one of the most powerful unions in Hollywood. Getting into the DGA without the program is particularly difficult, so the fact that participants who successfully complete the program are automatically invited to join the guild is one of the reasons that this program is so extremely competitive.
Already I have completed three of the five major steps:
1) Application Part A – basically, a form saying, “I want to apply, here’s my application fee.”
2) DGA Test – a long, standardized test administered to all applicants, this test includes math, vocabulary, spatial reasoning, planning, prioritizing, and a psychological profile.
3) Application Part B – a series of five application essays, a resume, and employment history.
The two remaining steps are:
4) Assessment Center – a series of group and individual exercises, which is what is happening today, affectionately called “the fish bowl” by some.
5) Individual Interview – a panel will interview individual candidates about their life and their interest in the program. Those who perform well enough at Assessment Center are invited to interview. If I am selected for an interview, that will take place this coming Monday or Tuesday.
So, anyhow, wish me luck, and I will be sure to keep you posted on my status. Here’s hoping I’m in LA until Tuesday!

Check out this selection from a Journal entry I made on July 26, 2004:
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I did quite a bit of car cleaning today. Yesterday I washed my car, but today I finally got around to cleaning the inside. I hadn’t vacuumed the car in at least a year, so it was getting pretty dirty. I vacuumed, foamed the tires, cleaned the vinyl & leather, sealed the vinyl, washed the windows (inside and out) and mirrors, and cleaned out some of the trash I accumulated during my brief jaunt to LA. The car looks really good now.
–
This was, of course, referring to my Mustang, which we all know is no longer with me. Less than a month after I wrote that, the car wasn’t looking so good anymore. Jeez… all that work for nothing. The vinyl top didn’t even EXIST anymore a month later and there I was sealing it, thinking I was all cool. And if I remember correctly, the windows were pretty much non-existant as well. Well, the glass still existed, but I would hardly say there were windows anymore. That’s why I’ve decided never to wash or clean my current car again.

Check out this picture in my gallery:http://www.lancesworld.com/gallery/landscapes/DSCN0034
Can you believe it? It is 100% real. I took this picture myself, and it never entered PhotoShop or any other photo editing program. You can go and see it for yourself if you want. Just head to the southwest corner of 31st Avenue and Judah in San Francisco’s Sunset district.

So, for those of you who don’t already know, my favorite Thai Restaurant in San Francisco closed its doors on March 1 of this year. I actually didn’t even find out until a few weeks after they were closed because I had not eaten there for some time. When I saw they had closed, I just knew that it was my fault. From November through January, I ate at Thai Spice at least twice a week. But around February time, I stopped going, though for no particular reason. So when they closed, I knew it was because they had lost me as a patron and could no longer afford to remain open. My mom keeps trying to tell me this isn’t true, but the other day I sent an e-mail to the Thai Spice people (their e-mail address was posted on their website), telling them how much I missed their establishment. I received an e-mail back from them within a day explaining that they had to close because I stopped going to eat there. When the lease ended and it came time to renew, they decided that because I hadn’t eaten there is over a month, they would not be able to afford to remain open. I knew that was the reason.
Anyway, now I’m left with a hole in my heart where Thai Spice used to be. But there is a new Thai place open in the same space – called Thai Chef. They serve some of the same things, but it will never be as good, I know. Never be as good.

As I write this, most of the country is probably asleep. After all, it is 2:30 a.m. in New York City, 1:30 in Chicago, 12:30 in Denver and 11:30 in San Francisco. By this hour, I’m sure a great majority of the nation is asleep, completely unaware that I am even constructing these sentences. And yet, here I am, sitting at my computer when I should be sleeping just so that you, my faithful audience, can have something to read as you rub the sleep from your eyes in the morning.
Today was a fantastic day, though not for any particular reason. This evening when I got home, I realized just how marvelous my life really is. Unlike many people in this world, I have more than enough to eat; I have shelter that keeps me warm, dry and safe; I have family and friends that care about me a great deal; I have a job that is more of a joy than a burden; and I have God’s Spirit with me always, guiding me. Every day, I know I have to live my life knowing how blessed I am, if for no other reason than to try and share those blessings with others.
So, this past weekend was excellent. On Sunday, my good friend Mike and I drove up to Sonoma County, just about an hour’s drive north of San Francisco. The weather was phenomenal – 70 degrees and sunny the whole day. We arrived just after 10 a.m. and starting our wine tastings right away at Roche Winery. From there we travelled to several other wineries before arriving in the wonderfully small and friendly town or Sonoma, where we ate lunch at an outdoor table at a quaint Bistro. The afternoon was filled with visits to more of the wineries, before we headed back to the city after the vineyards closed between 4 and 4:30. It was a great day, and I do have some pictures that I will try to post before too long.
This is a short work week for me as my sister’s graduation is this Friday. I am currently scheduled to fly from Oakland to Salt Lake City early on Friday morning so that I can be in Utah in time to make it to my sister’s actualy graduation ceremony. Then on Saturday we are going to celebrate her four wonderful years at the University of Utah with a party at our house. It’s going to be a great weekend.
Though I fear that what I’ve composed so far is inadequate, the angel of dreams is approaching ever nearer, and I feel drawn to my bed for a good night’s sleep. I wish you all the best that God has to offer. And so I leave you now to join the rest of the nation. Good night…